APKenya's Thomas Pkemei Longosiwa, left, Ethiopia's Hagos Gebrhiwet, center, and Britain's Mo Farah, right, compete in the men's 5000-meter final during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics Saturday in London.

Lopez Lomong was caught in London traffic Saturday.

The venue was Olympic Stadium instead of one of that city’s bustling roads, but he still couldn’t find a way to get where he wanted in time.

Lomong teased his family and friends in the stands and his faithful hometown fans in Tully by taking an early lead before falling to 10th in the Olympic 5,000-meter final. Lomong finished in a time of 13 minutes, 48.19 seconds, behind Britain Mo Farah’s winning effort of 13:41.66.

Lomong grabbed a quick edge, expecting the race to stay fast and wind up with a sprint. As someone who also runs the 1,500 meters, that pace might have played right to Lopez’ closing kick.

Lomong is capable of such closing rushes. For instance, he took third in the U.S. Olympic trials in 13:24.47. But Saturday, he got boxed in, jostled, and lost amid the crowd.

“It was a little slow,’’ Lomong said of the tempo in a telephone interview after the race. “I’m not really doing well in the slow races. I thought I’m going to lead and let’s wait for people to make the race faster. Everybody was drafting (behind) me.’’

Lomong hoped for a final chance on the last lap and tried to make a late push, but he couldn’t shake free.

“I thought they were going to come back to me with 600 meters left,’’ he said. “At the bell lap, it was too late to come back. I did everything I can. I’m not really disappointed. It’s one of those
things.’’

Lomong’s foster parents, Robert and Barbara Rogers, were among the 80,000 fans who helped their hometown hero take gold almost by the sheer force of their deafening din.

“You can’t imagine the sound of that many people screaming,’’ Rob said. “You were out of your seat the whole time. And you can’t tell what’s going to happen until it’s going to happen. You don’t want to breathe for 12 minutes when you’re watching your kid run a race like that.’’

Rob said Lomong arranged for a pair of special guest supporters as well. Lomong was one of the "Lost Boys" of Sudan, separated from his parents at gunpoint by government soldiers attempting to recruit him into their army. Saturday, the runner got tickets for two men he first met as children in a Kenyan refugee camp.

Lomong also appreciated the backing of the hundreds of fans who gathered to watch the race in his adopted hometown of Tully.

“That’s a great thing to have people back home who support you unconditionally,’’ Lomong said. “I’m humble to have them as my fans. I wanted to bring that medal back home.’’

Lomong will remain overseas to complete the summer track season in Europe, next running a 5,000 on Aug. 30 in Zurich. He said he’ll keep chasing his Olympic medal goal toward Rio de Janeiro, which will host the 2016 Summer Games.

That would be Lomong’s third Olympics – he ran the 1,500 in Beijing, but didn’t qualify for the finals.

“This is an improvement,’’ he said of Saturday’s result. “Next time, in Rio, I’ll be 32. I’m going to plug along and find a time and place to get this medal.’’